


Use the Force, Luke

by drizzle



Series: Drama, Fereldan-Style [2]
Category: Dragon Age
Genre: Blood Magic, Gen, Hunting, Magic, am i secretly a jedi, stinky darkspawn, what just happened, why is this spider on my keyboard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-10-13
Updated: 2012-11-03
Packaged: 2017-11-16 04:51:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/535706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drizzle/pseuds/drizzle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When dropped into a world like Thedas, anything is possible.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Alistair**

If only I’d been there when Elissa first met the assassin, then maybe he wouldn’t be here.  Sure, he’s funny.  And good-looking.  But what does he have that I don’t?  I have some pretty good one-liners, isn’t that enough?

Just as I’m watching them flirt, she turns around and faces my direction.  I quickly divert my eyes away from them, but I wasn’t quick enough.  Zevran saw me and smirked.  Maker, I hate that man.

“Alistair, I needed to ask you a favor,” she says in her melodic voice, walking closer and closer to me. I can hear my heart pound.

“Your wish is my command,” I hear myself saying.  Did I really just say that?  Remind me to shudder about it later.  Nevertheless, she smiles, and that’s usual my goal whenever I talk to this flawless woman.

“I need you to watch Huntress for me.  I always try to talk to her, but once I get there she’s always fast asleep, or telling me she was just about to go hunt.  Perhaps you can go hunting with her?  I would, but I have other matters to attend to.”

“...as you wish.”

I don’t think Elissa realizes that our newest member just doesn’t like her in general.  I never understood why, Elissa is very lovable, but back in the woods she seemed very displeased every time we came around.  However, Elissa seems to like her just fine.  But then again, Elissa likes anyone.  Zevran, for example.

I begin to make my way over, and as soon as she hears my blasted armor approaching, she picks up her bow and arrows and heads toward the small forest nearby.  “Huntress!” I call.  She’s not fooling me, no ser.  Huntress stops and turns around, a curious frown on her face.  “Is that what you’re calling me now?” she asks in her dwarven-like accent.   Well, what did she expect?  I was serious about that whole Forest Guardian thing.

“Well yes.  You didn’t actually think we were going to let you remain nameless, did you?”

 She raises her black eyebrows, and then indifferently turns around back to the forest.

“Wait a minute, where are you going?”

“Hunting.”

“Oh good, I’ll come with you,” I say, trying to keep up.  Huntress stops again and faces me, looking like she’s coming up with a thousand excuses.  I’d know, I hear her tell them all the time.

“You’re too noisy to go hunting,” she says, fulfilling my expectations.  I look at my hard as rock armor, knowing she’s right.  But I don’t go anywhere without it.  But Elissa had asked, and I didn’t want to give up just yet.  

“I’ll take it off.”

Huntress narrows her eyes at me in scrutiny, her thoughts were as unknown to me as the archdemon's whereabouts. She opens her mouth, and I’m readying myself for another excuse, until she says, “Well, are you just going to stand there or are you going to take your armor off?”

The way her dark eyes look me over burns my ears, and for a wild moment I thought she meant that as an innuendo of some kind.  Until it occurs to me that she doesn’t think I’ll go through with it.  “Give me a moment,” I reply back defiantly.

A few minutes later, it’s all off, and I’m feeling naked in just this sweaty thin tunic.  I don’t know how she does it, always parading around without the slightest of protection.  Not even mages let themselves be that vulnerable.

“Are you good with a bow?” she asks me as we walk.  “Er...no.  But I’m pretty good at throwing my sword,” I lie, hoping that throwing swords is something huntsmen do.  She muffles a snort, but says nothing in response.

We scout out in the cluster of small forests that surround our campsite.  Even going a few miles away just to find anything that moves.  All the while we hunt, or should I say she hunts and I just watch, I wonder why she let me tag along.  It was all too easy, and I know for a fact that she wouldn’t have let Elissa tag along, or Zevran.  I watch as she pulls an arrow back on the bowstring, entirely focused on the bear a few meters away.   She reminded me a little of Duncan.  Same dark bronze skin, brown eyes, and black hair.  Even her hair was in a ponytail.  Only difference was her hair is longer and had curls.

Rivaini.  But she couldn’t have been.  Not with that accent.

“Throw your sword!” she yells at me suddenly, bringing me back to the present.  It’s only then I realize that her arrow missed the bear.  I knew I should’ve kept on a little armor.  The massive bear gallops toward us, roaring and clawing the air, the ground trembling at every step it takes.  And I just remembered that I left my shield with my armor. 

“I lied! Run!”

She doesn’t hesitate.  She sprints away, fast as lightning, too fast for me to keep up with.  The bear is right on my heels, and the adrenaline pumping in my body doesn’t seem to help me run any faster.  I can only hear my heart trying to escape my chest.

Next thing I know, I’m climbing up a tree.  I don’t even know how to climb up a tree.  Hm.  Maybe my adrenaline is good for something then.  Once I’m sitting safely on a branch, I look below to see the bear scraping and pushing the tree.  I taunt it by sticking out my tongue.

“Hah! Stupid bear, can’t get me.”

It snarls, and begins to climb.  Andraste’s tits.

A whistle catches my attention, as well as the bear’s, and next thing I know, an arrow is piercing through the bear’s eyeball, killing it.  Huntress strolls on over from a shrub, and rips the arrow out from the bear.  Her head tilts upward to look at me, and I swear I think I see her shaking with laughter.

“He’s dead, it’s safe,” she calls, with a little smirk on her face, like if she planned this all along.  Oh, I get it.  She brought me along as bait.  How nice.   Wait, did she know that I would survive this or...

“Are you coming down?”

I shake the thought away, hoping that she wouldn’t be that evil.

“Uh...” Now that the bear’s dead, my phobia of heights kicks in.  I hold on to the tree tightly, fearing for my life.  

“You’re pretty high up there.  Do you even know how to get _down_?” she asks, and something in her tone tells me she already knows. I can hear the devilish delight in her voice.  Why must everyone pick on me?

“Of course!”

No that was a lie too.  I’m on a roll today.  In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if one day my lies killed me.  That day is probably today.

“Okay well, see you back at camp!” she says as she begins to turn her heel.

“No! I mean- what about the bear?”

“You’re a strong man, I’m sure you can take him.”

“You killed it, you take it!”

She folds her arms over her chest, still amused by my predicament.

“Just admit that you can’t come down.”

“...Fine.  I can’t come down.”  I just _know_ she’ll never let this go.  I just know it. But I’d rather be made a fool of for the rest of my life than die.

“Just slide down.”

“Are you crazy?”

“What? Afraid to get a splinter?” she sneers at me.  Oh, _that_ was a challenge.  I may be afraid of heights, but I will not stand to be degraded this way.  By Andraste, I am a man!

I grip the tree, holding on to dear life, and without looking down, I step off the branch with one shaky foot.  Oh Maker, this is harder than I thought.  Okay Alistair, think of the splinter.  Are you afraid of splinters?!

“Any day now.”

“Shhh!  I need to focus!”

Splinters.  Closing my eyes tightly, I jerk my other leg off the branch.  Now I have two legs dangling while I hug the tree as tightly as I can.  My chest trembles. What have I gotten myself into?  Should I check to see if she’s still waiting?  _NO._ Just _focus._ My arms burned, and started to give out.  I’m not going to die today.  I’m not.

“Okay Alistair, you can do this,” I mumble to myself against the tree. I talk myself into easing my grip so I could slide down, and as soon as I do, I fall too quick; my life flashes before my eyes.  So I take it that I’m going to die today.

Huntress breaks my fall, proving that the Maker does love me.  Well, this is what she gets for using me as bait.

“Oof!”

As soon as I land, my eyes burst open to meet her brown orbs of fury popping out of her face.  Once again, my heart jumps out of my ribcage, knowing that my life is still in danger.  She just shoves me off as she gets up, even dusting off her clothes as if to salvage her dignity.

“The bear,” she says simply, a string of annoyance in her tone. She attempts to drag the bear herself, but proves to be...how can I say this?  Weak.  So instead of doing it herself, she looks at me expectantly. “I specifically brought you along for this moment,” she says a matter-of-factly, hands on her hips.

“Oh, I thought I was here to distract the bear,” I mutter under my breath, sounding more bitter than intended.  I didn’t mean for her to hear, I’d said it so low that only I knew what I’d said, but she snickers maliciously.  

“I hadn’t expected that actually.”

“So you brought me along purely for hard labor?  I thought we did this to bond.”

“No, you’re just my pack mule for now.”

“Oh, lovely.  Nothing better than being used like an animal,” I say back sarcastically, our conversation suddenly becoming more fluid.  I get up to tie the bear’s legs around a branch that must’ve broken off while I was climbing, and pick up one end.  “Pick up the other end,” I tell her.  Surprisingly, she complies, so remind me to write this is in my journal of significant events.  We make it out of the forest and into a clearing, a few miles away from camp. 

“So I take it that you’re going to help me skin it when we get back.”

I hear her mouth open in response, probably another excuse, until she chokes and coughs.  And then I smell it.  Darkspawn.  In the distance, they spot us before we can run.  Dropping the bear, I get into my battle stance, but when I look her way, she looks horrified.  Right, I’m not wearing any armor.  And there were no splinters to encourage me this time. 

**Huntress**

What I am still doing here, I don’t know, but this is _exactly_ why I don’t like open spaces.  As soon as my pack mule and I leave the forest with dinner, I inhale the most disgusting smell my nose has ever tasted.  Even worse than back in the Brecilian Forest.  I literally wanted to regurgitate my liver.  
  
When I realize where it was coming from, I desperately wanted to hide.  But the only thing, the only person, I could hide behind was Alistair.  I’m so brilliant.  Take off your armor, I said.  We’ll be sneakier, I said.  
  
 _Fuck_.  
  
Thankfully, there was no ogre to throw me around like a baseball, but there were so many gremlins.  Or should I say “darkspawn.” It didn’t matter, they all looked like orcs straight out of a Lord of the Rings movie.  When I dart my eyes at Alistair, he’s just as terrified as I am.  We were clearly outnumbered, by at least a dozen, and there was no way we could hide. They’re already dropping into battle stances, and running around.  
  
My mind races.  Nowhere to run.  Nowhere to hide.  I draw my bow.  Although the rest of me shakes with terror, my hands are steady, already accustomed to the motions.  I take a deep breath, unwilling to let myself think of the outcomes that could come out of this.  Right now, I just focused on the present.  
  
As soon as my arrow leaves the bow, I don’t check to see if it hits its mark.  I know that sounds stupid, but it’s what happens when you’re desperate.  My arm is swinging back and forth between my arrows and my bow, until I’m all out.  When all the archers are dead, my attention is drawn by the approaching sword-holding creatures.  I quickly made up my mind to beat them senseless with my bow when I have the chance, until Alistair – who I’d forgotten was there – jumps in front of me and charges toward the creatures.  I nervously watch him distract them, dodging their every swing with dexterity I never knew he had.  
  
The fine hairs of the back of my neck prickle as I surreptitiously place myself behind one attacking gremlin.  It’s human size, and lets out a gut-wrenching bellow right before it tries to strike Alistair from behind.  Obviously, it wasn’t trying to hide its own presence, and it even makes Alistair jump as he swings his sword at the shorter goblin in front of him.  
  
My hands grip the ends of the bow’s arc, swiftly throwing it over its head and pulling it at the gremlin’s neck.  The creature staggers backward with me, which encourages me not to relent.  Adrenaline courses in my veins with an incredible velocity, quickening my breaths.  The bow breaks in half, and I don’t hesitate to use my arms instead.  
  
The creature gurgles, but overpowers me in the next second, firmly gripping my arms and throwing me over its head, right onto Alistair.  Upon impact of my legs on the back of his head, Alistair falls over, unconscious, leaving me alone to deal with the last surviving darkspawn on my own.

Cold sensations I can only describe as fear shoot through my blood vessels, and my body trembles in response as I get back on my feet.  The last one zeroes in on me as soon as Alistair hits the floor, raising its sword to strike as it maliciously chuckles. My heart beats as fast as a hummingbird's wings, knowing I had nowhere to go.  I didn't want to die like this, by the hands of a disgusting creature that smells like shit.  I don't want to know what color my blood is.

_Kill it.  Kill it with your hands._

Suddenly, a surge of heat warms the icy sensations circulating throughout my body, stopping as it reaches the tips of my fingers.  I didn't know what it was, or why I'm instinctually jerking my hands out, all I knew was that electricity is not supposed to come out of my hands like this.  It's _not_.  It's physically and biologically impossible, so I just stand there, stunned into paralysis, as the gremlin fries from electrocution.

 _Good.  Good._  
  
In a daze, I drop my arms, my newfound power not quite sinking in.  I don't know how long I stood there, staring at the burnt body of the monster that could have killed me, but eventually, Alistair's voice pulls me back to reality.

"Huntress?  Huntress!  What are you doing, are you alright?  What happened?"  
  
I didn't realize my mouth was still open in shock until I regained my ability to speak.  "It's dead," I say almost in question. 

"I can see that…Ugh, what a day.  Let's just get back to camp, I think my shoulder popped out of place."  
  
We completely forgot about the bear.  There was no way we could bring it back anyway, not with my weakling arms, and his shoulder out of its socket. Upon our return, Elissa, being the smothering person that she is, immediately greets us.  I hadn't even meant to ignore her this time, but the crackling sound of lightning kept ringing in my ears, leaving me deaf to anything that tried to interact with me.  Back in my tent, I reviewed what happened back there over and over in my head.  The darkspawn, the electricity, the inexplicable  _voice_ that spoke to me...that's when it hit me.  

I…am a Jedi.


	2. Chapter 2

_“Let me in…”_

_The voice awakens me, but I am no longer in my tent – or at camp, for that matter.  Alone, I stand, my vision groggy from just waking up.  What is that voice?  It whispers, beckoning me to come.  I don’t know the direction in which it’s coming from.  I don’t even know where I am.  In the distance of this barren desert-like place, I spot a silhouette of a city.  It looks like an island, floating on its own, with no roads or bridges that lead into it._

_“Let me in…” the voice calls again, closer this time.  A sick feeling hits my stomach all of a sudden.  Something, in the back of my head, tells me not to listen.  Not to let the creature in._

_“Let me in,” it says louder, sounding almost demanding.  I try to take a step forward, but my legs move slowly, like if I were in a dream._

_“LET ME IN!”_

I jerk awake in the shade of my tent, covered in sweat.  What the hell?  A headache slowly creeps up on me, and just as I’m about to rub my head, I feel the same warmth I felt back when the darkspawn attacked us.  I watch my fingers twitch, emanating little sparks for a millisecond before my heart stops racing from the nightmare. 

Oh, good, I’ve still got it. 

“Huntress?  Huntress, are you all right?”

Oh dear God, _why_?  Isn’t it bad enough that I woke up with a headache? Just- Just go back to sleep, maybe she won’t notice- ohh…what, has she no concept of privacy?

“Huntress?” Elissa pries into my tent, leaving me none too happy.  “I heard you screaming.  What happened?”

I frown.  “I wasn’t screaming.”

Honestly, I think she’s doing things like this just to annoy me now.  “Yes you were, you woke the whole camp up.  This wouldn’t have anything to do with yesterday, would it?  Alistair told me what happened.  You didn’t accidentally consume any darkspawn blood…did you?”

“No.”  I don’t know how anyone can “accidentally” eat blood unless they faceplant into a blood-puddled ground with their tongue hanging out.  Unlikely, if you ask me.

“Oh.  Are you sure?  Because…”

“Yes, yes. I’m sure.  Now please, do you mind?”

“Oh!  Sorry, I didn’t mean to barge in on you like this.”

So overbearing.  She’s impossible.  Once she’s gone, I go back to inspecting my fingers, my headache slipping away just as Elissa leaves.  No matter how hard I focus, the warmth, the sparks, they don’t come back.  I sigh, disappointed.  I’ll try again later, I suppose.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

“So what was with the bloodcurdling screams this morning?”

Alistair clanks up from behind me, fully armored, as we walk the roads to a town named Redcliffe, I think it was called.  He’s getting just a bit too comfortable in my presence, I’d have to say.  Not that I mind his face, but I’m not one who enjoys the company of others, in case you haven’t noticed by now.

“I was dreaming of your face, actually.  Why?”

“Ha ha ha.  You know, you’re very funny.  Perhaps you should consider becoming the queen’s fool.”

I laugh.  Maybe I will keep him around. 

“Do you need something?”

“No.  I just wanted to check up on you, you seemed pretty shaken yesterday.  Had I known you’d be so belligerent though…”

Ignoring that last part, I say back derisively, “Oh, how noble of you.  And yourself?  How is the shoulder coming along?”

“Wynne popped it back into place.  I don’t know about you, but I think I’ll stay away from hunting for awhile.”

“Whatever happened to bonding, hmm?”

“Thanks, but I don’t really want to bond if it involves man-eating bears, tall trees, and darkspawn.  I have enough things trying to kill me at the moment, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“Ah, well.  That’s a sha-”

In that moment, Zevran shoves through from between us, smelling like a rotting carcass, no doubt from those damned boots he was wearing.  Have I ever mentioned how much I hate him?

“Oh, my apologies, my dearest companions.  If you’ll excuse me, I must attend to a _lonely_ Grey Warden ahead of us,” he muses, smirking at Alistair as if saying “I’m winning.” He trots off to the front, where Elissa walks alone, swaying her hips as she does so a little more than necessary.  Ugh. 

“I hate him _so_ much,” Alistair nearly spits.  When I’m done glaring at the pair in front, I glance next to me to find Alistair glaring as well, but at Zevran only.  His amber eyes were almost greenish, if you know what I mean.  I don’t know why I didn’t catch the jealousy before, but once the realization hit me, a sinking feeling informed me of my surprising disappointment.

Strings of iciness found a way to my hands, and instead of sparks, my fingers emanated frost.  Can Jedi do that?

“ _What_ is it so cold ar-?” Alistair begins to complain until he gets sight of my fingers.  His mouth drops in shock.  At first, I thought he’d be as amazed as I am, until I recognize the wild look of horror in his eyes.  “You’re a…a _mage_?”


	3. Chapter 3

 

**Elissa**

Ah.  Redcliffe.  Finally.  From the overlooking cliff, everything seems to be in the correct order.  Buildings are still standing, drunken men waddling outside the tavern, the estate looks peaceful.  Perhaps this time, I won't have to fix another man's problem to get what I want.  
  
"Elissa, can we talk for a moment?"  
  
Oh, here it comes.  Alistair, now's not the time to ask for my hand in marriage.  
  
"Yes, what is it, Alistair?" I ask, flashing a smile.  I have to stop doing that.  As a noble, old habits die hard.  
  
"I need to tell you something I should have probably told you earlier."  
  
Oh, he looks nervous.  Please, please, PLEASE don't tell me you love me.  I glance nervously backward at a grinning Zevran, as if he's thinking about how hilarious it would be see Alistair being turned down.  It would be harder than the thousand times I've imagined it.  
  
"I told you that Arl Eamon took me in, right?  Well, the reason he did that was because...my father is...was King Maric."  
  
He bites his lower lip, waiting for my reaction.  King Maric?  As in...Cailan's father?  No.  That's not...I was _born_ into nobility.  How could I have not sensed it?  It's his misplaced humor, surely.  Otherwise, I would have noticed.  
  
"You're...Cailan's brother?  So you're a prince!"  
  
A prince!  Of all things, I never thought Alistair...oh, this is my window of opportunity!  
  
"Oh, Maker, no.  I would never be king- I mean, all my life I'd been told-"  
  
This is great news.  Queen Elissa of Ferelden.  I can just see it now.  But this requires careful planning, calculated steps.  He's already in love with me, no? Making this all the easier.  He would not make such a terrible husband, and he's not hard to look at either. Zevran would understand.  
  
"-not only that, but I don't _want_ to be king-"  
  
Those last words hit me hard.  "What?!  Why wouldn't you want to be king?"  
  
Taken aback, he's speechless for a moment.  Right, right.  This is not helping me.  
  
"I mean," I retract quickly, "Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"  
  
I soften my look, trying to look understanding, even though I wasn't.  Doesn't want to be king...what a ridiculous notion.  
  
"People often resent me for it, that or they coddle me," he explains, looking like a sad puppy dog as he often does when I'm conversing with Zevran instead of him..  But that'll soon change  
  
Everything has changed.


	4. Chapter 4

"Think of it as a muscle," explains Wynne as we near the campfire.  I didn't want to talk about magic, especially not after that traumatic experience in Redcliffe, with the possessed ginger boy and what not.  In fact, after Alistair first told me about the bad news of being a mage, I didn't want anyone to know.  I specifically asked him to keep it between us.  Silly me, I thought I could trust him with my tiny little secret, but no.  He was definitely in a gossip-sharing mood today, what with his news about his princely status.  Then, when we infiltrate the castle, we find out that the only way to save Eamon was to shut the demon spawn child up, which required a mage to enter "the Fade."  
Only we didn't have a mage with us at the time for the ritual, other than the one doing the ritual. So guess who Alistair volunteered for the job?  
  
Then they gave me a stick to start carrying around on my back.  A wooden stick.  With no one to tell me what to do with it.  So I ended up beating the demon to death, which wasn't so hard considering she was so inappropriately naked.  
  
"You know how you can make facial expressions without really feeling an emotion?  It's almost the same.  It's almost as if you're faking an emotion.  But that takes time.  For now, since you're new to this, it seems, you must try to keep your emotions in control."

"Look, I appreciate what you're doing, but I'm not gonna be a mage anymore, so don't worry about it."

"Magic is something you're born with.  You can't simply wish it away, Huntress," she drones.  
Funny, I don't remember being a mage back when I still lived on Earth.

"If that's true, then why am I only discovering it now?"  
  
"HOW COULD YOU LET ISOLDE KILL HERSELF?"  
  
The shouting startles the both of us, and we both whirl around to find Alistair yelling at a lip-trembling Elissa. Wynne gasps upon seeing him rip her apart, while I fight the urge to snicker as Elissa curls her tail between her legs.  
  
"YOU SHOULD HAVE TRIED HARDER.  BLOOD MAGIC?  HOW DID YOU EVEN LET THAT BE AN OPTION?"  
  
At this point, the whole camp was listening in.  Even stone-faced Sten raised a brow in surprise.  To be honest, I thought Alistair was happy with the verdict.  I know I was.  It’s cruel to speak ill of the dead and all…but you can’t honestly tell me Isolde’s accent didn’t drive you crazy.  But I wasn’t going to stop the show.  
  
"What exactly _is_ blood magic?" I whisper to Wynne, my eyes still glued to the pair of Wardens.  
  
"Shh!" She holds up a finger as she intently watches the one-sided spat go down. Well then.  
  
Following her example, I watch Elissa as well, and she mumbles something in response.  It's too quiet to hear.  
  
"It doesn't matter now.  We could have gone to the Circle of Magi for help," Alistair spits.  Wow, I never thought he had it in him.  And just when Elissa started to turn on the charm too.  Conveniently _after_ he revealed his deepest darkest secret.  
  
"Perhaps we should continue our discussion some other time.  I believe Elissa might need me to talk to her," Wynne says hurriedly, concerned for our less-than-happy leader.  I briefly imagine myself walking up to her and saying "Who's smiling now, Elissa?!"  But it would seem a little harsh, even for me.  
  
I'm surprised to find Alistair waiting for me at my tent, tapping his foot like he's got somewhere else to be.  I approach cautiously.  
  
"I'm angry," he says between his teeth as I come closer.  In an instant, my good mood turns sour.  He still has to pay for ruining me.  After word first reached Wynne, she implored me to turn to the Circle Tower, another name for Hogwarts, only a prison.  That much I've picked up on, at least.  
  
"I can see that.  The whole camp can see that," I snap.   Remembering what Wynne said about emotions, I took a deep breath to cool off my flaming fists of fury.  I purse my lips as I try to pass him, not planning on continuing the conversation.  
  
"Wait, I'm...I'm not angry at you-"  
  
"-I know.  But I'm angry at you.  So good night."  
  
"Wha- _what_?  Why would you be angry at me, I did nothing wrong."  
  
His last four words ring in my ears about a million times in a matter of milliseconds.  Really?!  You did nothing wrong?!  
  
"Of course you did something wrong!  I told you to keep this between us!" I say, unable to stop myself from striking at his chest.  Not that it would matter, with his freaking armor protecting him.  In a flash, his ungloved hand catches my wrist before I strike, looking shocked.  My face flushes from the touch, and I yank my hand away.  Hopefully he thinks I'm blushing with anger.  People do that.  
  
"Just like you didn't want to be known as a prince because people would see you differently," I start again. "I didn't want people to see me as a wizard!"  Just within the last few hours, I go from being the solitary huntress, to the troubled a-prostate (or did I say that wrong?) in need of an exorcism to everyone who encounters us.  Now I know why Morrigan is so hostile all the time.  
  
Alistair's face shifts, and his mouth opens as if he was going to say something, but instead drops his head into his hands.  "Oh, I'm an idiot."  
  
You don't say!  
  
"I'm such an idiot.  I didn't think...I was just trying to save Connor.  I hope you'll understand why I did it."  
  
Connor.  Right.  I have no right to be mad.  My hand, still burning from where he gripped it, fiddles with the silver necklace Gerick gave me.  A child's life is more important than any of my secrets.  I sigh, defeated.  
  
"Fine," I say reluctantly.  I look away from him as he grins in triumph, catching a glimpse at a devastated Elissa.  A slow smile returns to my face as well.  Maybe today wasn't so bad.  
  
"You know, you have a cute smile," Alisair coaxes me in the next second.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"I actually didn't think you were capable of smiling.  Being grumpy all the time sure seems taxing."  
  
"I'm only grumpy whenever you're close to me."  
  
"If that's true, then I'm not sure why you're smiling so _adorably_ right now," he mocks, hovering over me like the giant he is.    
  
"...I _will_ beat you with this stick."  
  
"Right!  I'm walking away now."  
  
Right as he hurries away just as I'm about to pull my stick out, I begin to realize how much I actually do smile when I'm around him, how much he makes me laugh, how easily he can melt my frustration away.  I couldn’t ignore it anymore.  I already broke the attachment rule for Gerick.  Now this? 

Already across camp, Alistair throws another playful smile my way, sending my heart fluttering. 

Oh shit. 


	5. Chapter 5

 

**Zevran**

Is this some kind of game?  Are Fereldans typically this fickle?  I'm not a jealous man.  I've had my fair share of lovers, and then some.  But I've never been left for an imbecile.  

 

The Warden and the bastard prince are inseparable these days.  I never thought he'd stop whining about how she'd allowed that Orlesian woman to kill herself, or that he would forgive her, but Elissa is too persistent with her newfound friendliness towards him.  Normally I'd ask her what her intentions are, but I don't want to make her think less of me, or think that I had already claimed her as my own.  

 

As the Warden intertwines her arms into the royal fool's, I approach the rather anomalous mage girl, who is currently playing with fire.  Literally speaking, of course.

 

"Huntress," I address her from behind, causing her to jump slightly.  I do have that effect on women.  And men.

 

Her dark eyes flash at me in disgust.  Oh, she can't still be mad about her old bow, can she?  

 

"What?" she demands.  Ah well.  Some people hold grudges and others don't, I suppose.  I steady my pace, to casually walk beside her as we near the dragon awaiting us by the mountain.  Something she seems quite oblivious to.

 

"Tell me, my dear.  Does it not bother you that Alistair suddenly prefers Elissa's company over yours?"

 

Huntress narrows her eyes instantly.  "Does it not bother you that Elissa suddenly prefers Alistair over you?"

 

Ah.  She had me there.  

 

I chuckle.  "Not in the very least," I lie fluidly.  A black eyebrow arches in suspicion.  I must admit, I did not truly think she would believe it.  The best liars can often spot another.

 

"Nevertheless, I am still curious."

 

"You threatened to kill me.  And you broke my bow.  I don't owe you any answers."

 

"Oh, I thought we put that behind us by now.  But if you insist on being difficult, I could make it up to you..." I purr, wriggling my eyebrows.  I can never resist making other people uncomfortable.

 

"Sure.  Why don't you stand over there so I can shoot fireballs at you?"

 

"Don’t I make you feel hot enough already?"

 

She groans, obviously too serious to keep up with the banter.  It's so disappointing when people don't wish to play my games.  I hear the melodious laughter of my Warden friend, and her newest favorite, and for a moment, I wonder how she could ever find that fool humorous.  Huntress' eyes drift in their direction as well, and I see from the corner of my eye, a frown unfold.

 

And there it is.  The answer to my question.

 

Suddenly, the snowy ground trembles, and for a moment the flakes of winter stop falling.  A dragon, the size of a whorehouse, roars and prepares to breathe fire.  

 

Things just got more interesting.

 

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

  **Huntress**  


Thank God for dragons.  I thought for sure he'd see the book I had to hide under my robes after he rudely subjected me to conversation.  In the midst of the monstrous thing breathing fire every which way, my book accidentally caught fire, thus destroying any evidence of my misdoings.

 

I don't know why everyone throws such a big fuss over blood magic.  It doesn't hurt that much, and strangely the demon whispers in my dreams have stopped.  Like I can control them.  

 

Jowan, the whiny mage back in Redcliffe, had the book in his belongings.  Sometimes I can't control the things I steal, I'm a kleptomaniac, what can I say?  After everything settled down, I found it again, realizing that I never did find out what blood magic was.  

 

It's amazing.  The things I can do.  And they don't have anything to do with emotion!  

 

Alistair, Elissa, and Zevran all gang up on the dragon, knives and swords and daggers flying everywhere while I stayed on the sidelines.  At this point, I didn't need the book. Everything was etched in my mind, countless spells that actually do real damage. 

 

One by one, they fall as the dragon swings its fist at them, leaving me as the last conscious one standing.  For once, I wasn't afraid of a creature I once thought was pure fantasy.  I was back in the woods, slaughtering bandits, playing cat and mouse with fools.  Now, I have the power again.

 

It approaches me slowly, every step it takes shaking the earth/thedas (I still a bit rusty on the jargon used here) beneath it.  I don't budge, and for a long moment we both stand, staring at each other as if understanding the power the other wields.  It stretches its neck to get a decent breath, but before it can make me into the center of an inferno, I'm already corrupting every one of its blood cells, working the disease of blood magic into its soul.  My arm outstretches, a reddish hue emanating from it, paralyzing the beast.  I can feel its fear, empowering me, exciting me!   I take a deep breath myself, and snap my fist shut.

 

Blood and pieces of the dragon rain down from the sky, staining the white snow with crimson.  The sick pleasure I used to get from killing bandits in the woods does not compare to the level of satisfaction I get from this.  It's its own drug, and I must get my fix.

 

"Did you...did you do this?" Elissa asks in disbelief as she gains back her awareness.  No, the unicorns did.  You just missed them.  Idiot.

 

I eye her.  She's so frail compared to the giant thick skinned reptile I've managed to explode.  It would be like breaking porcelain.  It would be a lot easier.  I could-

 

No.  No, no, no.

 

I give her a blank stare.  "One minute, I was trying to do a fire spell, and then in the next... It just..." My hands shoot outward to demonstrate.  

 

"Oh."

 

"….Here, let me heal you."

 

For someone who's trying to save the world, she's pretty dull.  I walk across the snowy terrain, using the same hand I used to kill the dragon to heal her.  I could do it.  I could.

 

_Do it.  Kill her._

 

And just like that, the silence is broken.


End file.
